Well, nearly two years later, residents of the Villa del Sol community in Jensen Beach are finally able to return home. The condo failed an inspection back in August of 2024, leading officials to deem the condominium buildings unsafe. Structural damage forced evacuations. 36 units were closed and 11 people were displaced. Our Caleb Califano spoke to residents today about what it means for them to be back after all this time, Caleb. In 2024, many people here in this condo community had to immediately pack their things and leave. Many of them at the time had no place to go. Now, after years of work, they can finally return. It is *** time capsule, yes, for Tom Costello, finally walking back into his Jensen Beach condo in the Villa del Sol community is like walking into the past, *** past he had to leave abruptly when his condo was deemed unsafe nearly two years ago. We were shocked that they said that it was not habitable. But we figured that was an engineer’s decision. It was not good news, but we had no idea that it was going to be almost 2 years before we’d be back. The evacuations were due to an inspection done as part of *** state law that was passed after the condo collapse in Surfside in 2021. It made it so all condominium or cooperative buildings that were 25 to 30 years of age or older with 3 or more floors in height had to do structural integrity checks called milestone inspections. The steel. I completely disintegrated. The inspection found structural damage to 3 buildings with 36 units. All had to be evacuated immediately and stay that way until *** few weeks ago when the residents got these letters from both the condo’s board of directors and the structural engineers that it was finally safe to return. For the last week and *** half that we’ve been here, we’ve been busy, Pruxtello, he says, while they are back in their condo, they of course have more work to do, including cleaning and fixing the air conditioning, but they tell me those problems are small compared to finally being back near the beach. And so we’re fortunate people to be able to have this, and we’re happy to have it back again. Coming up at 6, we’ll hear from one man who wasn’t able to return to this kind of community. We’ll have more on the problems he’s still facing two years later in Jensen Beach, Caleb Callif OWPBF 25 News.
Villa Del Sol residents start to return after 2024 emergency evacuation
Updated: 5:27 PM EDT Jul 17, 2026
Residents of the Villa Del Sol community in Jensen Beach are finally returning to their homes after three condo buildings were evacuated nearly two years ago due to structural damage. For Tom Costello, walking back into his condo feels like stepping into the past. “We were shocked that they said that it was not habitable,” said Costello, a Villa Del Sol resident. “But we figured that was an engineer’s decision, but we had no idea that it was going to be almost two years before we would be back.” The evacuation followed a state law passed after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021, requiring milestone inspections for all condominium or cooperative buildings 25 or 30 years old or older, with three or more floors. The inspection revealed structural damage in three buildings, affecting 36 units. Residents were forced to evacuate immediately and could not return until a few weeks ago, when letters from the condo board of directors and structural engineers confirmed it was safe to move back. Red stickers were placed on the affected condos, marking them as “structurally unsafe.” While many residents are now able to return, some have had to leave their condos permanently. Eric Johnson, a former Villa Del Sol resident, is among those who cannot return. “We won’t be able to make the move back in,” Johnson said. Johnson lived in his condo for more than five years before the emergency evacuation. At the time, it was his primary residence, but since then, he has relocated his family to Georgia. “I’m happy for everybody that was able to make it back in,” Johnson said. “I wish we could have. I mean, it was a dream of ours to live there, and we were able to spend quite a bit of time there.”Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
JENSEN BEACH, Fla. —
Residents of the Villa Del Sol community in Jensen Beach are finally returning to their homes after three condo buildings were evacuated nearly two years ago due to structural damage.
For Tom Costello, walking back into his condo feels like stepping into the past.
“We were shocked that they said that it was not habitable,” said Costello, a Villa Del Sol resident. “But we figured that was an engineer’s decision, but we had no idea that it was going to be almost two years before we would be back.”
The evacuation followed a state law passed after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021, requiring milestone inspections for all condominium or cooperative buildings 25 or 30 years old or older, with three or more floors.
The inspection revealed structural damage in three buildings, affecting 36 units. Residents were forced to evacuate immediately and could not return until a few weeks ago, when letters from the condo board of directors and structural engineers confirmed it was safe to move back.
Red stickers were placed on the affected condos, marking them as “structurally unsafe.” While many residents are now able to return, some have had to leave their condos permanently.
Eric Johnson, a former Villa Del Sol resident, is among those who cannot return.
“We won’t be able to make the move back in,” Johnson said.
Johnson lived in his condo for more than five years before the emergency evacuation. At the time, it was his primary residence, but since then, he has relocated his family to Georgia.
“I’m happy for everybody that was able to make it back in,” Johnson said. “I wish we could have. I mean, it was a dream of ours to live there, and we were able to spend quite a bit of time there.”
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News